Before I Fall
by onel-ff
Summary: Camille Rhodes has just started her new job as EM Resident. Moving back to the other side of Chicago where she grew up she's faced with both demons and mistakes of her past, Camille finds comfort and now able to call her friends family in a place she thought would haunt her forever.


**A/N: This is a rewrite of my fanfiction, Rhodes' Sister, I hope you enjoy and remember I do not own the one Chicago franchise nor do I own the characters.**

* * *

Camille groaned as she heard her cell ring, she reached her hand out and felt around for the annoying sound. She turned her head to look at who was calling but her eyes weren't looking at the Caller ID which read 'Dad' and instead fixated on the time 6:09. Camille was going to be late for her first shift.

"Crap" She bolted, throwing her hair up in a quick bun, Camille rushed around the rather empty room and searched for anything that seemed remotely decent for her first day at work.

Changing into her jeans and burgundy blouse she zipped up her black boots that she had found in one of the disregarded boxes that currently decorated her new apartment and stood in front of the mirrored closet. Smoothing down the blouse before fixing her hair. Her hair a dark shaded brown, cut just above the shoulder with bangs that fell just above her grey shaded green eyes, making them more prominent. With one last glance, she placed her scarf around her neck, Cammie quickly grabbed her keys and left the apartment.

"Here goes everything." Camille muttered as she unlocked the white Cadillac Escalade, quickly hopping in to escape the chill that the Chicago winter offered. With a turn of the ignition, she fled from the street and hoped that she would miss any congestion.

"I'm late, I'm late, my first day and nowhere to park." The brown haired, and all 5ft 5" of a woman complained to herself and made her way through the chaos of the ER.

The frantic woman quickly tried to maneuver her way through the people that had gathered in the reception area, her concentration still on the people behind her she walked straight into a rather solid figure making her bounce back. With no grace she fell to the floor in a heap knocking the man's paperwork to the floor in the process. Letting out a groan Camille rubbed one of her hands on the throbbing wrist.

"I'm sorry I didn't see you there." Camille apologized, accepting the hand that the pepper hair guy offered she bounced back on her feet.

"It's okay." Jeff smiled at the small woman before him, holding his hand out towards her he introduced himself "Jeff." It didn't take him long to notice that she was cradling her wrist. "And you might wanna get that wrist of yours checked out, could be sprained."

Camille smiled at the concern but quickly brushed him off. "I'll be fine, it won't be anything more then bruised- oh and I'm Camille but please call me Cammie everyone else does." The youngest Rhodes flashed her toothy grin as she looked the rather handsome fourth-year med student who stood before her.

The two were interrupted by a strong voice that boomed across the hussle and bussle of the ER. "I don't believe my eyes, Cammie Rhodes. How're you doing kid?"

Jumping slightly, Camille turned to find the first-year attending, Will Halstead approach the pair. "Nervous, but I'm good." She smiled slightly, looking towards the Doctor she had just met, she could tell he had been shocked by the news that she was in fact a Rhodes and that made her slightly uneasy.

"Dr Clarke, I believe you've met Dr Camille Rhodes, she'll be our new ER Resident." Will introduced the two.

"Dr Halstead, over here." Maggie called, gaining the red-head's attention.

With an affirmative nod in her direction, he turned back to Camille and Clarke. "The staff room is at- well you remember from visiting Connor- so still in the same place, so I'll catch you when you've got settled in then." Will smiled, squeezing the Rhodes' forearm he set off to work.

* * *

"So that's Connor Rhodes' sister?" Jeff asked. He could see the youngest Rhodes through the glass door where she was with a patient, he noticed her smile and pure empathy when speaking to a patient and he admired that. It was something he was keen to learn from her.

"Yeah Cammie, good kid, hard life, the 'delinquent' if you were to ask any other Rhodes" Natalie grimaced. Natalie had got to know Camille when she met her at a charity event, the two had got to know each other well and had kept in contact ever since. "A good doctor though, she worked for everything she has, never had the easy road." She finished with a small smile.

Jeff and Natalie were no longer seeing each other after 'The Troll' or rather known as Dr Stohl the Chief of Emergency Medicine had picked up on the romance during a case and had addressed the matter in the M&M meeting which had left the two-red faced. Agreeing to part and just be friends the two seemed to be still getting along.

* * *

Camille Rhodes had been jumping from case to case all morning and had yet to receive a break let alone meet her new colleagues, another person Camille had yet to see was her older brother Connor who had apparently been stuck in a meeting with Ms. Goodwin according to Will Halstead.

During the morning Camille Rhodes had the pleasure of meeting some of the hospital staff including Dr. Manning who she had met before, Dr. Latham who she had found rather unique, Maggie and April and some of the other nurses who 'run' the ER and after working there for all of 4 hours she could see why. Camille also had the pleasure of meeting a few firefighters from 51 who had had to accompany a patient who had been impaled by a shard of glazed metal.

Camille signed her name on the last of Tommy Phelps' paperwork and headed for her first break of the morning. As she rounded the corner she bumped into a tall young woman who she assumed was Dr Reese another resident who appeared to be pacing.

"Dr Reese, right?" Camille's voice was soft, hoping not to startle the young doctor she laid a hand on her shoulder despite being shorter had manage to stop the girl from pacing.

"Yeah and you must be-you are the-" The young woman stuttered across her words.

"Rhodes' Sister, Camille." Camille greeted, noticing the flustered look on the Resident's face Cammie encouraged her to join her on a break "Come on, you look like you need a break"

"Yeah, yeah. Okay."

The two made their way towards the coffee cart each ordering their coffee of choice before they headed to the roof, so Camille could have a well needed smoke.

"I thought you'd be a bitch." Camille was shocked at the words that flew out of her fellow resident's mouth turning around and letting out the drag of smoke she had inhaled Camille rose her eyebrows making the resident even more nervous. "I mean-you're a Rhodes. I know Dr. Rhodes is nice but he-" The resident stopped herself before she continued.

"I'm nothing like a Rhodes Reese, trust me on that." Camille couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart, yet again someone had pictured her as some threatening Barbie doll, someone that had got everything because of who she was.

"And you smoke..that's your choice but I thought you'd be more up-"

Camille laughed and cut her off. "Uptight? No Sarah I'm not 'uptight' and quite frankly happy as a someone who made her way with nothing but a helping hand from her big brother."

"I'm sorry." The sound of Reese's pager broke the silence between the two "I've got to go, it was nice speaking to you. I'm sorry-"

"I know, go on" Cammie smiled. Taking another drag of her cigarette Camille took in the beauty that was Chicago. The air was cold, and the chill was still present, glad she put on her scarf Camille pulled her jacket on tighter.

"They'll kill you one day" A voice interrupted Camille's view of the city as she blew the smoke from her mouth. Camille hadn't heard the door to the roof open or close since Sarah left so she imagined that the voice had arrived then.

"Death 'll come to us all one day." Taking another drag, Cammie spun around and eyed the dark haired. "You were standing there watching me." She observed with a scowl.

"Come here." Connor smiled at his baby sister. "Sorry I didn't see you before your shift started, I was stuck in a meeting with Goodwin."

"That's okay." Stubbing the cigarette Cammie deposited gum into her mouth and began to chew. She was quick to accept the embrace her brother offered, having been on the other side of the city, Camille rarely had a chance to see her brother not that he blamed her for keeping away especially with the strained relationship she herself had with the Rhodes'.

Claire, the oldest sister had remained loyal to the company that their grandfather had built but on the other hand Connor and Camille had decided that they rather make a name for themselves which had been difficult with the legacy of Dolan Rhodes himself hanging over them.

"How's your first shift going?" Connor asked, stepping away.

Camille grinned. "It's great." Her smile faltered a little though, "I don't think my late arrival did me any favors though." She shrugged.

Ever since Elizabeth Rhodes' suicide when Camille was only 5 years old, Connor who had only been 10 had vowed to look after his youngest sibling. At the time Claire had refused to blame their dad for not noticing their mother's depression though Connor and even Camille despite her age were aware that her death may well have been avoided. Camille hadn't coped well with the loss of her mother and Cornelius Rhodes hadn't really tried to stop his youngest daughter from going off the rails when she was a teen. With her older brother absent Camille had begun acting out, causing trouble in school, her grades slipped, she stayed out longer and went to parties. Once the parties became more frequent she began to drink more and had fallen into the habit of drug misuse but one night when Camille was 17 she was brutally attacked at a party, paramedics found her unconscious and barely breathing. After that Connor had returned from abroad and looked after her, the process had been long and emotional but the two managed to power through, together.

Camille's pager tore the two from their conversation. "Gotta go"

"See you later." Connor called.

* * *

"Dr Rhodes, we have incoming" Maggie informed the youngest Rhodes as she rounded the nurses' station.

"Okay, talk to me."

"This is Jonas Leighton, 15-year-old asthmatic found convulsing in the high school corridor. No history of epilepsy." Brett informed the newcomer. The two paramedics helped Jonas onto the bed from the gurney and left the doctors to it so they themselves could sign the paperwork.

"Thanks Brett, Dawson...Jonas, my name's Dr. Rhodes. Can you tell me where you are?" With no response Cammie sighed and turned to Maggie Lockwood. "Maggie, I need bloods and book him in for a head CT."

April was inserting a central line whilst Dr. Clarke did whatever Camille asked. The three had managed to stabilize the teenager when Maggie called over to the Trauma Bay "Dr. Rhodes, CT's clear."

"Take him up." Camille ordered the group of people on standby to take the teen to radiology.

Walking out of the bay Camille began writing up the paperwork, blowing her bangs out of her face and pushing up her navy framed glasses that she wore whilst she read back up to the bridge of her nose she began her notes.

It hadn't even been 2 minutes when Jeff and April returned with the convulsing teenager, running towards trauma 5 Camille demanded "What happened?"

"He started convulsing." April shook her head as she awaited instructions.

"Okay, lift the rails." After the first anti-convulsant didn't work Cammie decided to see if the seizure would stop on its own. Jonas' body had stopped shaking after nearly 2 minutes, satisfied Cammie sighed and left the room once more.

Once Jonas was stable Camille had sent him off to radiology once again and silently hoped he didn't seize on the journey.

* * *

It was a little while later and Camille was still stuck on the case of Jonas Leighton as well as being swamped as senior physician on other cases that walked through the door. When Camille finally found a few minutes to herself she headed towards the break room and re read the notes.

No fever. Clear TOX screen. There was something right in front her, she knew it but couldn't figure out what.

Camille was so engrossed in the notes and different Medical journals she hadn't even see her brother come in.

"You look drained." Camille's head popped up at the sound of her brother's voice but instead of her usual routine of telling him to go away she ignored his presence.

Connor had made two coffees' before he joined his sister who sat rubbing her eyes. Concerned he moved the books away from her.

Before she could protest Connor said, "Know your limits, that was the deal."

"Yeah, I know" Camille knew her brother was right but she felt like she had something to prove and if that meant pushing herself a little more, then she would. Rubbing her forehead, she took a sip of the hot beverage, muttering a 'thanks' in her brother's direction. "Boy, 15, comes in with recurring seizures, no indication of epilepsy. I'm stumped."

"You're not 'stumped' Cammie." Noticing the confused features that spread across his younger sibling's face Connor couldn't help but smile at the sight, Camille had managed to mirror the same look on her face that she used to get whenever she was stressed. "Remember what you used to do?"

"Take a minute. Step back. Take a breath. Look at the facts." Cammie did as she remembered, closing her eyes and taking a step back from her brother then repeated the facts. Opening her eyes, Camille couldn't help but hug her brother kissing him on the cheek. "I got it. Love you"

"Gonna tell me what it was?"

"Later, I got a patient to treat" Connor chuckled at the retreating figure that skipped back down towards the ER.

Camille practically ran towards the trauma room where Jonas sat talking to his parents. Entering the bay where Jeff Clarke was updating the notes Camille smiled as she snatched his notes and read through them again much to the others confusion, finally certain she was right she began speaking.

"Hi Jonas, remember me?" Camille asked.

"Yeah, Rose?"

Cammie chuckled as she rounded the bed, so she stood next to Dr. Clarke "Dr. Rhodes, but close enough. Okay so I've got a few questions for you to answer, is that okay?"

"Sure" He shrugged, not sure why the energetic woman seemed to want to quiz him now.

"Okay, now you're asthmatic right?" With a nod from the parents and Jonas she continued "And you had some sporting event today?"

Jonas nodded before stating proudly. "Yeah high school football, quarterback."

"I'm right in saying you take medication for your asthma as well as the inhalers?"

"Yeah." Jonas confirmed with a cocked eyebrow, he wasn't sure where this was going but then again, no one did, not even Clarke.

"I'm sorry Dr Rhodes but I'm not sure where you're going with this. I thought Jonas was suffering from seizures and not a chest infection." Mrs Leighton wised.

"You are right in saying that Mrs Leighton and that's why we haven't been able to diagnose your son until now. I believe Jonas used his inhalers as a preventative more than a reliever and once the contents build up it causes something called Adrenergic Bronchidiliators Overdose which then resulted in the seizures."

Camille and Jeff left the family for a moment and Jeff had been beyond impressed with his colleague.

As soon as they reached the staff room to clock off for the shift, Clarke turned to the dark-haired woman. "How did you know that?" Jeff asked surprised considering just over an hour ago his superior doctor was just as confused as the students.

"I did something that no physician should ever do, I overlooked the history" Camille nodded, accepted defeat and ignored praise "The answer is _always_ in the history. Never forget that Jeff Clarke."

Whilst Camille continued to collect her stuff, Jeff nodded, mutely.

"See ya tomorrow, Clarke." Camille had grabbed her coat and scarf and headed towards her escalade, wishing her fellow doctors a good evening as she passed.

Her first shift was over and she was ready to sleep.

* * *

Pulling the two cases behind her Camille Rhodes nearly screamed when she felt someone tug at her suitcase, looking back she was greeted with the familiar face of the one person she could count on whenever she may need, her big brother. "Connor, don't do that to a girl"

"Sorry, I forgot you were the jumpy one." He chuckled, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

"Haha, what are you doing here." Cammie asked through her teeth whilst she concentrated getting her cases in the apartment complex. Sensing his sibling's struggle and only after laughing he held the door open for her so she could get her suitcase in. "Thank you."

Connor Rhodes looked around the empty flat where the only thing there were the boxes that had obviously been dumped here before Camille had turned up at the ER for her first shift. "What's with the cases?"

"Last few bits from the old house, I forgot to take them out of the car yesterday." She shrugged. "Wanna beer?" Camille asked as she placed the suitcases by the door much to Connor's annoyance.

"Typical, you leave all your stuff all over the place but, yet you still manage to cool your beer."

Camille just winked, handing Connor a nice cold beer she said, "Priorities Con, priorities" After Connor took a sip he set the bottle down and began rooting through the boxes that had been scattered across the large complex, with raised eyebrows she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Helping you unpack." Connor said as if it were obvious, with a shake of the head Camille followed suit and began unpacking the brown boxes.

The two had been unpacking for a while when Connor stumbled across his sister's collection of books. Pulling out the books Camille had packed Connor couldn't help but laugh at the extensive collection.

Cammie's head popped up at the sound of her brother's annoying chuckle, something she still found irritating to this day. "What are you laughing at?"

Still laughing Connor shook his head. "Your books. You're the only person I know that can't survive without a book in your hand. Oh my- wow what do we have here." Wondering what her brother had noticed Camille made her way to where he sat, still laughing at the collection of books she owned.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just come on- how do you go from a Jane Austen novel to Bruce Springsteen's autobiography. I mean seriously sis."

"What did mom's favorite author always say?" She asked, her eyes daring her brother to continue laughing. "A well-read woman is a dangerous creature."

She smiled at the memory of a once happy and joyful Elizabeth Rhodes read to her youngest child, the only child who had insisted on a story before bed or when she wailed with tears. Elizabeth Rhodes had been a good mother and Camille hoped that one day she too could live up to her mother's memory.

"Yeah I remember." Connor smiled.

* * *

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 **Thank you for reading.**


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